Redeem My Heart (31 page)

“Where do they want the exchange to take place?” Jax asked in a manner that made Fallon think he would have been just as lethal as Ryland if he’d ever chosen that route. “Word for word, Emily.”

“Noon today at Lafayette Square,” Emily repeated before talking to someone in the background. Fallon took a step closer, bringing her side by side with Connor. Fear and determination were written on Emily’s tear-streaked face. “I’m heading to the airport now. Jessie had the corporate plane fly back from D.C., so it should be on the runway by the time I get there. We. Sorry. They won’t let me travel alone.”

“I’ll have him in my arms by the time you get here, Emily,” Jax vowed, his fingers squeezing into the palms of his hands. The action was done against his thighs, away from the camera’s line-of-sight so that Emily couldn’t see. “I love you.”

“They’re bringing Derrick to D.C.,” Fallon murmured, sharing a knowing look with Connor. “They’ve already set up the exchange to happen, which means they’re already here. Derrick has to be fairly close by.”

“We need Ryland for this, Fallon,” Connor said softly, keeping his voice just as low as hers. “Jax will do whatever it takes to get Derrick back, but this would go down a hell of a lot smoother if Ryland were here. There’s going to be bloodshed and maybe, just maybe—God help me for saying this—we can work this one out together.”

Jax slammed the laptop shut before standing and making his way down the hallway to where her spare bedroom was located for an apparent moment alone to collect himself. Connor followed after a brief nod from Crest and left Fallon to figure out how to get a hold of Ryland to let him know what was taking place. She honestly didn’t know how to go about that and an anxiety filled her unlike anything she’d ever experienced. This wasn’t a case she was working where she could remain impartial. This was about an innocent little boy who was being used as leverage against the man she loved. It had all become so clear now.

“Go change into comfortable clothes so you’ll be able to maneuver if we need to move on short notice,” Crest instructed, already pulling his phone out of his long dress coat that he hadn’t bothered to take off. He wasn’t staying. “We’ll need to be organized when the exchange is set to occur.”

“Exchange?” Fallon asked, her chest tight from apprehension as she locked eyes with Crest. Hearing the desperation of two parents wanting their child back was something she’d heard too many times over in her career. “What if we have nothing to exchange?”

“We’re doing everything in our power to ensure that Ryland is there for the swap.” Crest’s face appeared to be set in stone…almost emotionless, reminding her of Ryland when he became obsessed with his trade. It was how men in this business survived—by shutting off their emotions. “E.D.A. crossed the line when they made this personal. It won’t end well for whoever is pulling the strings.”

Fallon didn’t doubt Crest’s declaration. These types of men were judged by their honor and they took that seriously. They understood the stakes of their profession, but making things personal upped the ante. Stealing a child had signed their death warrants. This agency didn’t intend to lose and that made Fallon desperate to ensure that Ryland wasn’t a casualty to be laid on the altar of justice when all was said and done.

Fallon left Crest to make his calls, noticing that Townes was on his phone as well. It sounded as if he were calling in some favors and she’d witnessed how far his reach went during the time of Ryland’s containment while negotiating his immunity agreement. Everything was being put into place. Lafayette Square would be all but isolated by the time of the exchange, but the only thing they were missing was Ryland. She had no idea how to go about finding him either. He could be anywhere by now. She quickly entered her bedroom and went straight for her closet, exchanging her grey business suit for a pair of jeans, a cream sweater, and a matching leather jacket that she would keep unzipped for easy access to her weapon. She nabbed a scarf that would hang low enough to keep the chill away and then made her way out into the hallway. The sound of Connor’s voice coming from the spare bedroom stopped her.

“There has been nothing thrown our way that we haven’t been able to overcome, brother. Derrick might not understand what is going on right now, but he
does
know that you and Emily will come for him.
Fiat justitia ruat caelum
. Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”

“He’s so fucking innocent,” Jax replied in such a desperate tone that it made Fallon tighten her hold on the scarf. “He has to be so scared, not knowing where we are or who has him. Those fuckers took a little boy from his bed in the middle of the night—my son. They put their hands on him, they stole him from his mother, and I wasn’t there to stop them.”

“You and I both know these people think they’re above the law, casting decisions on the world they have no right to do. We underestimated the lengths they would go to, but not anymore and we’ll fight back with everything we have. These guys are going to find justice is swift and deadly.”

“I can’t stop the thoughts, boyo.” Jax used his personal nickname for Connor like it was a landline to keep him sane. Fallon leaned up against the wall and rested her head back against it, forcing herself to listen even though she knew it wasn’t right. She’d brought this upon them, not Ryland. She was the one to tip E.D.A.’s hand and lead them down this road. “Is Derrick crying? Is he cold? Is he in pain? Are they treating him all right? Are they even feeding him?”

“You can’t—”

“Or are they leaving my son to rot in a filthy diaper while he cries for his mother? My wife was home and watched as they took our son out of our house. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? How desperate she must have been to stop what was happening right before her own eyes? These bastards have my son and I wasn’t there to stop them. I wasn’t there to help Emily.”

Fallon swallowed against the lump forming in her throat. Hearing Jax’s pain was overwhelming and she had to close her eyes as it absorbed into her. An innocent child was to be traded for a ruthless killer. Ryland didn’t stand a one in a hundred chance of surviving this scenario if they found him.

“We
will
stop them,” Connor replied in genuine reassurance just as intense as Jax’s condemnation in his lack of ability to protect his family. “Derrick is fine. My godson is fine and I won’t hear anything else come out of your mouth. You’re going to keep repeating that over and over until he is back in our arms, but right now we need to focus on locating Ryland. He’s been gone for over twenty-four hours, gaining information from those agents at the hospital. That’s where we’re going to start. They are the key to figuring out where he may have gone next.”

“God help us all if this blows up in our faces. Not one of them will walk away from this alive…not one soul,” Jax muttered, signifying the end of their conversation and the urgency to do what needed to be done.

Fallon quickly made her way into the living room, looping the scarf around her neck twice and allowing it to hang down far enough to give her coverage, yet not get in the way of her reaching for her weapon if needed. Crest wasn’t in sight, so she went to her purse and quickly withdrew her license from her wallet along with some cash. She stuffed them into her back pocket and then snatched up her keys, doing her best to push all emotion aside. Her one objective was to find Ryland and she needed to reach those three agents at the hospital before they were sedated. She glanced over her shoulder to find Townes looking at her knowingly, but she wasn’t going to worry about him relaying information to Jax and Connor considering she’d only be thirty seconds ahead of them. She had more important things to do…one of them helping bring Derrick home alive.

Chapter Twenty-Six

R
yland had spent most of the night confirming what Agent White had shared and now that the sun was rising over the horizon, it was time to take care of business. Cy was out obtaining the weapons and equipment they would need for this ill-fated mission, although his concern was evident. What would happen upon confronting the man who had reinitiated E.D.A.? Would Ryland succumb to his programming or had enough time passed that he would be immune, much like Cy? He now wanted to do this last assignment solo and forgo the chance that Ryland might turn on him if his programming took over.

“I just need to grab my files on them before we go to the hospital.” Fallon’s voice drifted through the closed door to her office, signifying that she was approaching from down the hallway. She sounded rather urgent and worry laced her tone. Ryland wanted to put her at ease, but he wouldn’t be able to do that with what still lay ahead of him. “Give me a minute. I won’t take long.”

Ryland didn’t turn from his position at the window, his gaze fixated on the skyline. He’d become someone else overnight, struggling against the reality that he was the same yet different, and still hadn’t come to terms with this inner conflict that made him feel as if he had no control over anything anymore. It wasn’t something he was used to and didn’t want to continue the experience now. Fallon would probably tell him it would take years, if not his entire life—which might range from hours to decades—but that wasn’t something he could easily accept.

Fallon opened the door to her office and Ryland could hear the small hitch in her breathing when she caught sight of him. He was grateful when she quickly closed the door, but they wouldn’t have a lot of time before Townes came looking for her. That was the person Ryland presumed she’d been talking to.

“Ryland.” He turned at the sound of his name, immediately knowing something had transpired he wasn’t aware of. Fallon hastily closed the distance between them and was in his arms before he could ask her what was wrong…besides his obvious failure to show up at her place last night. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her hair that she’d left long and loose. She was also dressed in casual clothes, suggesting she’d gotten ready rather quickly this morning. “Oh my God. You’re all right. You’re here, thank God.”

“I’m fine,” Ryland assured Fallon, pulling her far enough away so that he could see her face. There were blemishes underneath her eyes where she hadn’t bothered to cover with make-up and her unblemished skin was quite pale. “I had to take care of a few things on my own. I now know who is responsible.”

“What?” Fallon whispered, searching his eyes as if she doubted what he was saying. “Who? You have to tell me who it is, because he’s made this a personal war. Ryland, he took Derrick Christensen.”

Ryland gave himself time to process what Fallon had just said, lowering his arms and stepping away from her. E.D.A. had taken Jax Christensen’s son as leverage and Ryland didn’t have to ask Fallon whom they wanted in return. It was to be an exchange—an innocent child for a preprogrammed killer. The punch line was that there would be no swap. E.D.A. couldn’t take the chance, so they would ultimately clean house during the transaction and then create a story the media would believe.

“I take it they chose a public place to meet?’ Ryland asked, needing details if he were going to stop E.D.A. before it was too late. He was the
only
one who could end this. “What is the timeline?”

“Noon today at Lafayette Square at the Jackson statue.”

Fallon took a step closer and reached out to Ryland, but he slowly shook his head and stepped back. He couldn’t have her touch him, or else he’d be tempted to ask her to leave…leave this place, these people, the danger behind for a fresh start somewhere where they could never be found. He would have thought nothing of exiting such a complicated setting had all of this happened prior to knowing her or discovering that E.D.A. even existed. Yet here he stood.

“Get what you came for and then leave,” Ryland instructed harshly, slipping his hands inside the pockets of his slacks. He refused to touch her and hadn’t meant to sound so callous, but he needed to imprint her image in his mind in case this was the last time he set eyes on her. She embodied what life could be and he was envious of her because he was trapped with no way forward. Fallon was everything a woman should be and he’d been fortunate to have this short amount of time with her. Everything came to an end. Now he had to face the music. “I’ll see to it that Derrick is returned, but you need to go now so that I can leave this building undetected. Make sure you take Townes with you.”